Cabarrus youth earn county fair honors

Youth incarcerated at Concord’s Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center were able to participate in this year’s Cabarrus County Fair through projects they created with 4-H clubs on the center’s campus. 4-H Extension Agent Heather Jones and Cooperative Extension of Cabarrus County partnered with Stonewall Jackson YDC to offer experiences through 4-H that to help youth learn live skills to help them become more engaged with the community.

Two of the center’s clubs created and displayed educational booths. Members of the girls’ 4-H club made and entered potholders, and boys’ 4-H club members entered gourds from the garden they tended. The educational booths received Honorable Mention ribbons, the potholders placed first, second and third, and the gourds placed second.

Six students from the center’s 4-H clubs were allowed to attend the fair and see their prize-winning items on display with ribbons attached. The students discussed fairs in their home counties and determined how they could participate in local fairs in the future.

“It was exciting to see how the students reacted to seeing prize ribbons attached to the things they entered in the fair,” Jones said. “It was also exciting to see them participate in new experiences, like  milking a cow and seeing different animals during their visit.”